Jonquil
by Meruhen Wind
Summary: Sequel to Zinnia: A collection of oneshots featuring different Hinata pairings. Because Yamanaka Ino genuinely believes that Hinata makes a good flower with everyone else.[Chapter 3: Neji x Hinata]
1. Marigold: Gaarahina

Author's Note: This kinda ties in to Zinnia, my other flower/one-shot collection, but doesn't reference flowers as much (sad, isn't it?). The reason I added this instead of adding a chapter to Zinnia is because 1) I'm lazy and don't want to sort this collection from Zinnia's and 2) These one-shots are different. Mainly because I've been repeatedly told that Zinnia isn't too much of a romantic fic and more of a character analysis. And yes, I actually agree with you.

My response to that is this: another unromantic fic that is a character compatibility analysis. Basically, I'm writing about the different Hinata couplings, and why exactly they'd be together in the first place. In a purely sensible way, of course, seeing as I have no ounce of creativity whatsoever. Written in Ino's point of view, because I happen to think that Ino is a really good character and analyzer. And who else could talk so much? (About flowers, I mean.)

* * *

Gaara and Hinata.

The two names were more different than night and day. Night and day could be claimed as opposites, but the two ninja were so different it was beyond that point. To say Gaara and Hinata was to say 'pickles' and 'cheesecake'-the two were much too different to even make _sense_ together.

But judging by how often the Kazekage visited the Hyuuga manor, life was getting to be pretty darn nonsensical.

Either that, or Ino had used her genjutsu skills one time too many for her own sanity.

What confused Ino most of all was the fact that they didn't _change_ each other. Granted, Hinata was a bit more confident and Gaara was a bit happier, but it was nothing _Naruto_ hadn't done for them during the Chuunin Exams.

She was still quiet, and he was still…well, Gaara. And it only occurred to Ino a little while after that maybe, just maybe, they liked it that way. That they were content with each other just the way they were, that they weren't interested in changing for other people anymore.

Ino knew perfectly well the dangerous steps Hinata had taken to become a proper heir, and had heard from Shikamaru (who, of course, had heard from Temari) about how Gaara had tried to alter himself in his childhood.

Perhaps it was just as well, that they didn't need to change anymore.

And when she had accepted that, she noticed something. They _had_ changed. Hinata was loads more confident about life when she was with Gaara and Gaara was loads happier when he was with Hinata.

And she couldn't help but think that together, the two were like a French marigold. Because the marigold was beautiful, once you got over its strange scent.

The marigold couldn't stand the numbing cold. And really, after the freezing life Hinata and Gaara had both lived, Ino was sure they couldn't either.

Gaara by himself during his childhood at Suna could never, _ever_ really bloom, much less _flower_, and Hinata by herself would never want to do anything but watch other people bloom. But together, the two formed a marigold, pretty and distinct, passionate and pure.

Hinata by herself was an unassuming white, pure and childishly innocent. Gaara by himself was stained a haunting blood-red. It created a mind spell, really, how when the two of them were together, the mild white was turned into a cheerful, glimmering gold, and the dark red was turned into a truer, individual form of red, happy with itself.

The marigold, in flower language, was the symbol of sacred affection in its entirety. Perhaps, after all, that was _why_ Gaara and Hinata together didn't make sense.

Sacred affection was rather hard to understand, after all.

* * *

Author's Note: (shrug.) Um...comments on how it sucks? How it's okay? How I can make it better? One-word replies such as 'hn' and 'ha' and 'Washington' that will eventually drive me crazy? Or D) All of the above? Any kind of review is appreciated...because then I know I'm not talking to myself...I apologize for making this too different from Zinnia, but...it wouldn't write itself! sniff... 


	2. Roses: Sasuhina

Author's Note: I repeat, this kind of ties into Zinnia. Um…I appreciate anyone who reads this thing, but I especially want to thank **I like angst** and **tsuki-san34** for offering good criticism! And **Topaz Fox, AuroraStarPhoenix, Elsie-neechan, Platinum Egoiste **and **masaki1** for reviewing this along with Zinnia .

This chapter is Sasuke x Hinata. Because, as is apparent by my other fics, it's the one I like writing best. And because it was one of the pairings mentioned in **masaki1**'s review (who was kind enough to remind me I had to sit down and write again.)

* * *

Ino would always remember the first day Uchiha Sasuke walked into the Yamanaka flower shop. 

For one thing, Sasuke-kun had successfully avoided the shop for an entire lifetime. For another, he had come in alone. By himself, with no insistent female tugging at his sleeve.

He had requested a flower. And help picking one, of course.

Ino stared for a second. Then she recovered of course, because she was much too sophisticated to gape at him the way Sakura would have done.

"We have carnations. They're really popular because of their vibrant, pretty colors. People can't help but notice them. They really stick out. _I_ like them," Ino hinted, giving Sasuke a charming smile.

Sasuke merely stared at the flower in question. After a few seconds of thought, he shook his head. "She wouldn't like them."

Ino hid her disappointment. "…well…" she said, clenching her teeth, "There are amaryllises. They're very romantic and they're a beautifully feminine _pink_. I'm sure Sakura would…like…one."

"She's not like Sakura," Sasuke gave a slightly nettled growl.

Ino blinked. "Are you sure you don't want either flower? Most girls like bright flowers or pretty blossoms."

"_No._"

And although Ino would really have wanted to suggest poison ivy next, she didn't. She was curious about this girl. Sasuke-kun liked her…and he liked her enough to think about the flower he wanted to give her. So she'd help Sasuke-kun out. _This girl better be worth it…_

"…fine, then. Why don't you describe who you want 'em for, anyway? It's easier to pick once you know what you want to say with the flowers," Ino suggested.

"…she's nice."

"That's not really _saying_ anything. _All_ flowers are nice."

"…"

"Okay, what are you trying to tell her by giving her the flowers?"

"…I-I…I deserve her. Unlike that baka…" Sasuke trailed off sullenly.

"Huh?"

"Never mind," Sasuke dismissed it.

"Anything else you want to tell her?" Ino urged.

"Isn't that enough?"

Ino sighed and thought about it. Sasuke-kun wanted to say he was worthy of her…but he was overly secretive and silent about it. The girl clearly wasn't bold enough to like carnations, nor romantic enough to like an amaryllis. So she was quiet. Innocent and pure, probably.

"A white rose," Ino spoke. It wasn't a question.

Sasuke looked up and nodded.

After he'd purchased his flower, Ino couldn't help her curiousity.

"Hey, who's it for, anyway?"

"That's none of your business."

So Ino let it go. For now.

A day later, she saw a pleased Hinata in possession of a white rose. That was it. Hinata would forever be ingrained into Ino's mind as the super-covert-precious-Sasuke-stealing-blue-blooded-Hyuuga.

Well, she would have, but the title was too long. So Hinata would remain just 'Hinata' for now.

And looking back on it, Ino couldn't really be too angry. She wished the same could be said of a few other people. What with Sakura uprooting the entire western forest region and Neji beating up a new record of over five thousand practice dummies (all of which mysteriously resembled the Uchiha family)…but as much as everybody hated to accept it, Hinata and Sasuke were…well…_together_.

And of course, there was something vaguely calming about it. The intertwining of two roses, one a calm white and the other an intense red. Two silent roses, each with its own shade but the same meaning. Ino could have droned on and on about the thorns in their earlier lives and their clans, of how the pure white balanced out the blood red, but that would be boring. She wasn't as cheesy as Sakura, after all.

But Ino _did_ give herself the comfort of adding one last reason to why Hinata and Sasuke were a red and white rose.

_It was a symbol of true unity.

* * *

_

Author's Note: So did I get Ino's voice wrong this time? Is it cheesy despite my efforts? Should I rewrite it? Please review (my one-word review offer still stands!)


	3. Rosemary: Nejihina

**Author's Note**: This chapter was started on…November 29. It has taken me a pathetic amount of time to finish it. -o- I feel deeply ashamed.

And this chapter introduces Hostile! Ino, otherwise known as Ino-gone-angry-because-one-of-her-friends-was-hurt-a-long-time-ago-and-she-still-remembers.

* * *

"Yamanaka." A cold voice, of course, because people never change.

"Hyuuga," she replies back a bit rudely, because creeps like him deserve it.

Pale eyes glare, and it doesn't take much to figure out that he clearly doesn't want to be there.

"Have you seen Hinata-sama?" he asks finally, looking away.

"What for?" Ino barks, because it's hard to forget that this horrible excuse of a cousin was also the reason that half of the Rookie Nine once came in here to buy Hinata "get well soon" bouquets.

"Hiashi-sama told me to escort Hinata-sama from your shop if need be. This side of Konoha has been getting dangerous lately, and he feels Hinata-sama needs protection. However, it turned out not to be necessary," Neji says, almost to himself, turning to leave.

"Ha! Even if she did need protection, it's a fat chance she'd get it from _you_," Ino spat.

Pearly eyes-not _lavender_, of course, because _Hinata_'s are lavender, soft and flowery-glare at her again.

"You're not part of our clan," he murmurs, almost quietly.

"Darn right I'm not. I actually _care_ about Hinata. Your clan only wants to beat her up, right?" Ino retorts angrily.

"…has Hinata-sama ever said anything about it?" he asks, almost concernedly.

"When has Hinata ever complained about anything? It's always 'No, I'm sure Neji-niisan wasn't thinking about what he was doing,' and 'being part of the clan's always been harder on Neji-niisan than on me'. I can't understand why she keeps calling you 'nii-san' when you're anything _but_ her big brother!"

"…I wonder about that too," he says almost sadly.

"Furthermore," Ino continues, "she planted a _tree_ for you. An _almond_ tree."

"Huh?"

"She knows you like almonds and went as far as to _plant_ one for you."

Neji blinked in almost disbelief. "So that's where she got them from," he mutters softly to himself.

"What?" Ino asks.

"But…it's…hard to grow."

"Of course it is, you idiot. She had to get Shino to help her while she caught bees-"

"Bees?!" Neji repeats, almost choking. "Did she get hur-"

"Yes, she got stung, although I'm sure you don't care, and then she carried them over to the one stinking tree in Konoha and _pollinated_ it. Not only that, but she's been taking care of that seedling for over a year now! All for some idiotic cousin who won't-"

"…I want to buy those over there," Neji interrupts calmly.

"What?" Ino asks, distracted.

"Those."

And Ino looks, and is somewhat surprised to find him pointing at the herb section. _Rosemary_.

"For who?" she asks stiffly.

"It's not necessary for you to know that," Neji replies.

"It's also not necessary for me to sell it to you," Ino retorts.

"…Hinata," he says at last with a long blink.

"Why those? I'm pretty sure there are uglier flowers here in the shop. There's some with poison in them too, I'm sure _those_ look pretty tempting," Ino scowls.

"I already told you who I want them for. Just sell them to me already," Neji asks almost impatiently.

"_Why_ do you want them," Ino demands, no question in her voice.

Neji glared at her. "You're making this difficult, Yamanaka," he says icily.

"Go and buy flowers someplace else, then, _Hyuuga_."

And, to her amazement, arrogant, stick-up-his-butt Neji, the same Neji that had never stood for an insult and would definitely not have stayed this long if he'd been in his right mind in the first place, _remains where he was_.

Both of them are silent for a full minute.

"A-aren't you leaving?" she asks, a bit of curiosity creeping into her voice.

"You know perfectly well rosemary doesn't grow anywhere within a ten thousand mile radius," he answers back, a hint of determination almost in his voice.

It is that hint of determination that startles Yamanaka Ino. Two years ago, a determined Neji meant seeing one heck of an impressive jutsu be performed in the Academy's classroom. A year ago, a determined Neji meant Team Guy getting more dangerous missions than they were meant to have as C-rank genin. Less than a year ago, a determined Neji meant seeing Hinata's face covered in bruises, all to prove some point Neji felt he had to make for himself.

At this point, Ino has learned not to underestimate a determined Neji.

"Rosemary's not anything special," she says finally. "There's better medicine herbs, so if they've sent you to get some for her, it'd be better if you bought other herbs at the marke-"

"It's not for medicine," Neji cuts her off.

"Well, there's more valuable flowers. If it's a matter of rarity, you should buy f-from Suna's flower shop. Shikamaru can get it for you next time he goes with that Tem-"

"I don't care about that."

"It doesn't smell too nice either. Unless it's a blue flower you're looking for? Then saff-"

"No."

Neji's 'no's' have always been vaguely frightening. Then again, Ino isn't a Hyuuga and has no built-up resistance.

"You hurt Hinata," she finally says, because honesty was always her forte. "How can you care enough about her to put up with-"

"You should know better than anyone," Neji replies almost impatiently.

"What?"

"Rosemary. What it means."

Ino's brain immediately goes into automatic flower-language action. _Rosemary: an almost pretty, almost lavender herb. It stands for loyalty, constancy, and faithfulness._ None of, which she thinks, has anything to do with how Hinata and Neji got along. "…huh?"

"…we used to have it in our garden when Hinata-sama was smaller. Hinata-sama used to like the smell of it, though I can't understand why. She has plenty of other flowers of course, but I suppose she might like some again," Neji says, voice a bit funny. If champion identifier-of-people's-feelings Ino took a guess, she would have said it sounded almost…_hopeful_.

At this point, even stubborn Ino has to give up.

"Here," Ino grumbles, getting the best specimen of the herb she could find and holding it out to the prodigy.

"Thanks," Neji mumbles back.

"Hey, Neji," Ino speaks, pausing and holding back the rosemary.

The Hyuuga glances at her curiously.

"If you hurt a single hair on her head again, I'll make sure that her _other_ suitors will get you." Ino utters smugly.

She watches with infinite pleasure as Neji's face turns slightly green with envy and then red from embarrassment as he understands the full extent of Ino's words. _Ah, payback._

Taking the rosemary, he walks stiffly out of the flower shop, disappearing as quickly as he could.

As soon as he leaves, Ino lets herself indulge in a few thoughts.

One: Hyuuga Neji with a blush on his face looks a lot like Hinata, minus fifty cute points.

Two: Hyuuga Neji had known perfectly well Hinata wasn't in the flower shop when he entered.

Three: Hyuuga Neji is horrible at making up excuses for entering a shop to buy flowers, and

Four: Maybe there _were_ a few things that only clan members could understand about each other.

_Neji and Hinata, huh_? Ino thinks. _It could be worse._

Because Neji genuinely seems to care about Hinata, and Hinata definitely cares about her older cousin.

"Hey Hinata," Ino asks a few days afterwards, "what's your favorite smell?"

"Rosemary," Hinata answers quickly, a vague smile on her face.

"Since when?"

"Ever since I can remember. …um…why?" Hinata asks confusedly.

"No reason," Ino replies just as quickly.

_Ever since she can remember, huh?_

Ino lets herself think one more thing about Hyuuga Neji:

All things aside, he has good taste in picking flowers.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yeah, if it wasn't too clear, the Neji x Hinata flower is rosemary, for all of their childhood and family memories. I couldn't actually put that flat-out or give them any "memories" because…well…Ino wouldn't know about that, would she?

And yeah. I had Ino use the word 'almost' a lot. That's just Ino not wanting to admit that Neji does care about Hinata after all, what with the Chunin Exam grudge she's holding…

Anyway. I apologize once again for taking so long to update…and I hope this chapter lives up to it, even though it probably won't.

Again, if you guys have any specific pairings, please request them since it takes me _days_ to pick pairings for my stories.


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